Since picking this up on ebay for $150 a while ago I have managed to collect a few random thoughts. So far I am very impressed with the cleaning capabilities, everything sparkles, in a relatively short period of time. 
The first thing to consider is the power you want. The lowest power units run at 42k cycles and are usually used for cleaning eyeglasses and such. They may or may not have a heated tank. The next step up in power are units that run at 40K cycles like the one I purchased. These clean more aggressively and have more power and usually heated tanks and timers. The 3rd level is 20k cycles, removes varnish and industrial finishes, and is too strong for our purposes.
Choosing your fluid: This is one of the most important things to consider when you operate these, never operate them dry or it will break. But the fluid is critical because not only should it be designed for the cleaning task and material at hand, but it also transmits the cleaning energy for cavitation, and a mixed fluid does this much better than just plain water. Beware of thermal burns. The liquid will be hot (duh) but when the unit runs it increases in temperature quickly. I keep a dilute solution of Simple Green in mine. Cleans a lot of stuff quickly and seems to exist well in the tank. I have separate solutions for cleaning things like silver or pistol parts. If you want to clean with something flammable, like ISO, you have to put it in a small glass container with the item and "float" it in your other solution in the tank making sure you have tons of ventilation because flammable vapors will be created and can explode.
I would assume this unit is not label safe. My PNWT was sandblasted so it comes out fine, but I think this thing would remove a lot of cheap labels fairly easily, depending on your cleaning fluid, but small glass parts are coming out immaculate.
The Old Ultrasonic Cleaner
Update 01/17/2024
Using a new ultrasonic cleaner I purchased on Amazon. This unit is very promising. It's heated, has variable cleaning power, has an anti-gas mode, and a drain valve. I'm testing its cleaning abilities using suppressor parts, which get extremely dirty and can be very challenging to clean, so far the results are excellent.
Amazon Link to New Ultrasonic Cleaner
The New Ultrasonic Cleaner
Portables: Lotus clean-air V3, Triihouse: Daisy, Lily; Storz & Bickel: Crafty, Mighty; DynaVap: OG, OmniVap
Vapes: herbalAire H2.1, VapeXhale: Cloud, Cloud+, LE Vectra Cloud EVO; Vaporbrothers VB2.5 Multi Converter
Glass: Stone Glassworks ShowerDome, Swagger Straight Neck ShowerCap Prototype, VapeXhale Devastator,
Custom Soul Shine Family Glass Hydraline, Swagger IGG Fanatic Circ to Gridded Barrel Turbine, Grav Labs J-Handle, David Goldstein Rooster Apparatus Fatboy "The most fizz in the biz!"
The first thing to consider is the power you want. The lowest power units run at 42k cycles and are usually used for cleaning eyeglasses and such. They may or may not have a heated tank. The next step up in power are units that run at 40K cycles like the one I purchased. These clean more aggressively and have more power and usually heated tanks and timers. The 3rd level is 20k cycles, removes varnish and industrial finishes, and is too strong for our purposes.
Choosing your fluid: This is one of the most important things to consider when you operate these, never operate them dry or it will break. But the fluid is critical because not only should it be designed for the cleaning task and material at hand, but it also transmits the cleaning energy for cavitation, and a mixed fluid does this much better than just plain water. Beware of thermal burns. The liquid will be hot (duh) but when the unit runs it increases in temperature quickly. I keep a dilute solution of Simple Green in mine. Cleans a lot of stuff quickly and seems to exist well in the tank. I have separate solutions for cleaning things like silver or pistol parts. If you want to clean with something flammable, like ISO, you have to put it in a small glass container with the item and "float" it in your other solution in the tank making sure you have tons of ventilation because flammable vapors will be created and can explode.
I would assume this unit is not label safe. My PNWT was sandblasted so it comes out fine, but I think this thing would remove a lot of cheap labels fairly easily, depending on your cleaning fluid, but small glass parts are coming out immaculate.
- When cleaning, consider your material carefully, especially jewelry. NEVER clean pearls or soft gemstones like emeralds or they will die and you will be sad
- Beware thermal burns, things are already hot, and get hotter quickly after you begin
- Avoid putting skin in the unit while in operation it can cause cavitation injuries
- Always use the least amount of cleaning time to achieve desired results.
- Never put flammable solvents in the main tank . . .
- Don't run the unit dry or it will break and you will be sad
- Always consider how the fluid AND the cavitation energy AND the heat will affect the item BEFORE you begin cleaning or you could ruin something and you will be sad
- These can be noisy while operating.
- Choose the shape of the tank for what you wish to clean. I need to find a longer one of these that can do full size glass diffusers.
- Always exercise common sense and best safety practices
The Old Ultrasonic Cleaner
Update 01/17/2024
Using a new ultrasonic cleaner I purchased on Amazon. This unit is very promising. It's heated, has variable cleaning power, has an anti-gas mode, and a drain valve. I'm testing its cleaning abilities using suppressor parts, which get extremely dirty and can be very challenging to clean, so far the results are excellent.
Amazon Link to New Ultrasonic Cleaner
The New Ultrasonic Cleaner
Portables: Lotus clean-air V3, Triihouse: Daisy, Lily; Storz & Bickel: Crafty, Mighty; DynaVap: OG, OmniVap
Vapes: herbalAire H2.1, VapeXhale: Cloud, Cloud+, LE Vectra Cloud EVO; Vaporbrothers VB2.5 Multi Converter
Glass: Stone Glassworks ShowerDome, Swagger Straight Neck ShowerCap Prototype, VapeXhale Devastator,
Custom Soul Shine Family Glass Hydraline, Swagger IGG Fanatic Circ to Gridded Barrel Turbine, Grav Labs J-Handle, David Goldstein Rooster Apparatus Fatboy "The most fizz in the biz!"
